International Affairs
41st
'Twins Days Festival', the largest gathering of twins in the world, began today in United States' Ohio.
The
3-day festival regularly attracts about 2,000 pairs of twins, and is also open
to triplets and quadruplets.
This
declaration triggers sanctions against the terrorist faction that has staged
multiple attacks on civilians, religious minorities and soldiers.
Besides
anyone who supports Jamaat-ur-Ahrar could have his assets frozen by the US
Government.
National Affairs
The Gujarat high
court has quashed 10 percent
reservation quota for the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs).
In
this regard, the Court has declared The Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker
Sections (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of
Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Ordinance, 2016
unconstitutional.
The
government today decided to table the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the Lok Sabha on August 8.
The
BJP has issued a 'three-line whip' to all MPs to be present.
The Rajya Sabha passed the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill
on Wednesday and the subsequent central and inter-state GST Bills will now be
introduced in the Lower House.
Goa
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today announced that the Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations will
be implemented in the state from November
1.
A
provision of Rs.2,553 crore has been made in the state budget towards this
implementation.
The Maharashtra
government will open 51 cyber
laboratories on August 15 this
year.
These
new laboratories will cover 34 districts across the state.
Note
: Maharashtra has seen a rise of 142.1% from 2013 to 2015 in
the registration of cyber crime cases, according to the Crime in India Report
2015.
The Hyderabad
Bicycling Club, the Hyderabad
Metro Rail and the UN Habitat today
entered into a Tripartite agreement
to set up about 300 bike stations
across the city.
About
10,000 bicycles, including e-bikes, will be made available at these
stations.
Further,
63 of the bike stations will be situated at metro stations to provide
passengers with last-mile connectivity.
Awards & Honors
Singer Shubha Mudgal
has been selected for the prestigious the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award 2016.
She
will be bestowed with this award for her outstanding contribution towards the
promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.
26 year-old Syrian
Ninorta Bahno has become the first
refugee to be crowned the'Wine
Queen' of Trier town, Germany.
The
Syrian Christian, who fled Syria over three years ago, will represent Trier's
winemakers at events.
The
'German Wine Queen' tradition began in the 1930s, and 'Wine Queens' from German
regions compete to become the 'German Wine Queen' every year.
Science & Technology
The US Air Force declared
the first squadron of fifth-generation
F-35A fighter aircraft as 'Combat
Capable'.
The
aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed
Martin, will reportedly be brought by 10 countries including Japan,
Israel, and Britain.
Note
: The project initiated in 2001 cost $379 billion and is
reportedly the most expensive weapons program in the world.
Business & Economy
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) today launched a website 'Sachet' to identify instances of
illegal acceptances of deposits, and provide timely information to the
public.
Through
this, people can file complaints and obtain information about entities allowed
to accept deposits.
Online
retail giant Amazon today
launched its own dedicated cargo plane
service for deliveries to its Prime members.
Amazon
also debuted its first ever branded air cargo plane 'Amazon One', a Boeing 767-300.
The
company announced that it will lease 40 such planes in the next two years for
its deliveries across the United States.
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) today imposed penalty
on two cooperative banks in Chhattisgarh
under the Banking Regulation
Act, 1949.
Zila Sahakari Kendriya Bank Maryadit was penalised for violation of the directives/guidelines of
the Central Bank on 'Know Your Customer' norms.
Raipur Urban Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd faced action for violation of the directives on prohibition
of grant of loans and advances to own directors or their relatives or concerns
in which they are interested.
The government today extended the Minimum Import Price (MIP) on 66 steel products for a period of two months as against 173 items
earlier.
This
comes following the steel industry's demands for the extension of MIP.
Note
: MIP was imposed in February amid attempts to guard domestic
steel producers against cheap in-bound shipments.
The Bank of England today
cut its benchmark interest rate to the
lowest in its 322-year history at 0.25%, its first cut since 2009.
This
was accompanied by stimulus packages worth nearly £170 billion amid attempts to
cushion the UK economy following the 'Brexit' vote.
Further,
BoE downgraded its 2017 growth forecast for the economy from 2.3% to 0.8%.
Recent Committees in News
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has set up a committee
to look at the various facets of household finance in India and to
benchmark the country’s position vis-à-vis both peer countries and advanced
countries.
The committee will be headed by : Tarun Ramadorai
(professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford)
New Appointments
Reliance Foundation chairman Nita Ambani became the
first Indian woman member of the International Olympic Committee, after
getting elected at the129th IOC Session
in Rio.
The
52-year-old is the third Indian member of the IOC after Dorabji Tata and Raja
Randhir Singh.
According
to membership rules, Nita will remain an IOC member till the age of 70.
Tunisia's
President Beji Caid Essebsi has named Youssef
Chahed as Prime Minister after
parliament ousted Habib Essid in a vote of no-confidence because of his
handling of economic reforms and security.
General Knowledge
Built on the side of a cliff in China’s Zhangjiajie National
Forest Park, Bailong Elevator is
the world’s tallest outdoor glass lift
with a height of 1,070 feet (approx 325
metres).
Recognised
by the Guinness World Records, it is also known as the Hundred Dragons Elevator
and consists of three lifts which take around a minute to reach the top.
US President Barack
Obama has won two Grammy Awards so
far, both in the 'Best Spoken Word Album' category.
Born
on August 4, 1961, he won the awards for his memoirs 'Dreams from My Father' in 2006, and 'The Audacity of Hope' in 2008.
Note
: Both the Grammys were won by Obama before being elected as
the President in 2009.
Sports
The Rio Olympics,
which begin today, are the first Summer
Olympics to be held during the host country's winter season.
In
the 120-year-long history of the modern Olympics, the Summer Olympics have
never been held in the host region's winter season.
Moreover,
Rio Olympics is also the first time the Summer Olympics have been hosted in a
South American nation.
Sri Lankan spinner Rangana
Herath (38) became the oldest
player to take a Test hat-trick, when he achieved the feat against
Australia in Colombo today.
Herath
is the second Sri Lankan to take a Test
hat-trick, after Nuwan Zoysa in
1999.
England’s
Johnny Briggs is the only other left-arm orthodox bowler to take a Test
hat-trick, back in 1892.
No comments:
Post a Comment